So Close
by Beccabo
Summary: What if Robin Scorpio and Stone Cates had a child before he died? And what if that child suddenly decided that he and his mom had been without a man in their lives for long enough? Well, of course, you get a SCRUBS fic with an AU twist!
1. Chapter 1

**_Hello everyone! Here is a new fic. Actually, it is an old fic that I am reposting on this site. I need something to take my mind off things these days and since I haven't been able to get the creative juices flowing enough to come up with a new fic...I just decided to repost this one!_**

**_For all my Harry Potter readers, I have taken a break from the wizarding world and decided to return to my other guilty pleasure...General Hospital!! Sorry to disappoint! But maybe you'll like this one even if you don't watch the show..._**

**Genre**: Romance/drama

**Tagline**: _"Sometimes what you've been searching for has been right in front of you all along."_

**Characters**: Robin Scorpio, Patrick Drake, Matt Cates (my created character), Lindsay Spencer (another one of my creations...but she's been used before), Jasper Jacks, Nikolas Cassadine, Alexis Davis, Mac Scorpio, Noah Drake, various other GH friends

**Summary**: The last thing Robin Scorpio was looking for was love. With a ten year old son to raise by herself and a thriving medical career, her plate is as full as she wants it to be. And now an arrogant new neurosurgeon at General Hospital is butting his sexy nose into all of her cases! But Robin's son, Matt, seems to think that something is missing from both of their lives. And when Matt sets out to fill that void, they realize that they've lived for so long without a man in either of their lives that neither of them could admit how much they both need someone to depend on. And they also learn some interesting things about life, love, and the everlasting bonds of family and friendship.

_What if Stone and Robin had a child? _Well, this is my take on it. (I have developed this crazy love for "Mama Robin"...I think she would make such a good mom.)

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**Chapter One**

"Matthew Stone Cates!"

The sleepy, ten year old boy slowly opened his dark, brown eyes and glanced at the digital alarm clock next to his bed.

7:20.

He groaned and burrowed back underneath his covers, pulling them up over his head and tried to drown out the sound of his mother's persistent voice.

No such luck.

"Matthew Cates! Get your lazy butt out of bed right now! You are going to miss the bus!"

The voice was closer this time and Matt knew that it would only be a matter of time before his mom was standing in his room, yelling at him to get up. But he was so tired...

"Matthew!"

She was standing right over him this time and before he could respond, he felt the warmth of his covers being jerked off of his snuggled up body.

"Mom!" He mumbled, grabbing for his pillow to cover his suddenly exposed head. "I'm tired."

But Robin Scorpio was not in the mood for her son's antics this morning. Grabbing the pillow from him and tossing it across the room, she reprimanded, "Then you should have gone to bed when I told you to last night instead of sneaking downstairs to watch T.V."

"No one in my class has to go to bed at 9:00." Matt mumbled, once again bringing up the bedtime that he believed was too strict. "It's stupid."

"No, this is stupid." Robin remarked, moving across the room and ignoring the bedtime remark. She didn't have time to get into that argument with him this morning. Opening up the wooden blinds on his bedroom windows to let in the morning sunlight, she continued, "You are in fifth grade and have a perfectly good alarm clock sitting right there next to your bed. I should not have to come in here to get you out of bed..."

"So don't."

"You should be responsible enough to get yourself up and ready for school in the morning without me." Robin continued, ignoring his mumbled remarks as she opened the blinds on a second window.The sunlight poured into his darkened bedroom and Matt groaned again as he covered his face with his hands. He listened as his mother moved around his room, but made no move to get up as he heard her walk into his adjoining bathroom and turn on the shower for him. He remained in his bed with his eyes closed as he heard her come back into his room and could feel her standing over him, but couldn't stop himself from opening one of his eyes to look up at her.

"I'm sick."

Putting her hands on her hips, she shot back, "Get up."

"I really am sick!" He protested, biting back a grin. Having a doctor for a mother, he knew that excuse wouldn't work before the words were even out of his mouth. But it didn't stop him from trying. "Feel my head."

"I am not playing around, Matt." Robin answered, glaring at him. "I have an important meeting at the hospital this morning, so neither one of us can be late. Now, get up."

Matt laid there for another minute before he finally dragged his tired body up into the sitting position. Knowing that she would not leave his room until she saw him walk into the bathroom, he slowly stood up and said, "One of these mornings, I really am going to be sick." He trudged toward his bathroom door and remarked over his shoulder, "And then you're going to be sorry."

She shook her head at him and turned around to leave the room, muttering, "Just hurry up so you won't miss the bus."

"I won't miss the bus." He told her before shutting the bathroom door between them.

Twenty minutes later a freshly showered and fully awake Matt bounded down the stairs into the kitchen of the home he shared with his mother. Robin was standing in front of the toaster, using it for a mirror as she hastily applied some mauve lip gloss to her lips. Matt shook his head and remarked, "We have a hundred mirrors in this house and you have to do that here?"

"This lip-stick was down here in my purse." Robin explained as he pulled open the cabinets in search of something to have for breakfast. "And this was the closest thing, so get off my case."

"Get off my case." Matt mimicked her as he opened another cabinet. Shaking his head again, he pulled out a bag and began opening it up.

"Cheetohs are not breakfast." Robin scolded when she realized what he had chosen.

"It's all we have." He shot back, popping a stale, cheesy snack into his mouth. When she frowned at him, he pulled open the cereal cabinet to reveal an empty space where the cereal and pop-tarts were supposed to be. "And even if we did have cereal, we probably don't have any milk." Matt moved over to the refrigerator and opened the door to prove his point. "See? I drank the last of it last night."

"I'm sorry, buddy." Robin apologized quickly. "I forgot to go to the grocery store."

"That's what you said yesterday." He muttered before popping another Cheetoh into his mouth. Then he asked, "What about lunch?"

"What about it?" She asked, distractedly taking her morning medication out of the cabinet and setting it out on the counter.

"Did you make me any?"

"I put twenty five dollars on your school lunch account last week." Robin reminded him, pouring herself a glass of water to wash down her pills. "Eat lunch at school."

Matt watched as his mother went about her daily medication ritual and waited for her to swallow her pills before saying, "It's Thursday. They serve fish sticks on Thursday."

"So?"

"I hate fish sticks."

"You do not." Robin chided, putting the caps back on her medication. "You love fish."

"I like fish...fried fish, grilled fish, and even that fish stew you make...but I do not like fish sticks." Matt protested, wrinkling up his freckled little nose.

"Well," Robin countered, checking her reflection in the toaster again, "don't they serve sandwiches in the cafeteria, too?"

Matt quickly checked the menu that was hanging on the refrigerator and then said, "Peanut butter and jelly. I don't like their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...they put too much peanut butter on them."

"Well, you'll survive." Robin said lightly. "Now go get your bookbag before you miss your bus."

"I won't miss my bus." Matt said for the second time that morning. "Did you sign my permission slip?"

"Permission slip?" Robin asked absently. Her mind was definitely elsewhere this morning.

"Mom!" Matt cried in exasperation. "My permission slip! To go to the space museum. It's due today."

"I thought we already did that."

"You gave me the money but forgot to sign the permission slip." Matt reminded her, digging around in his bookbag for the half-sheet of paper in question. "Mr. Byrnes says I can't go without a parent signature...whether I paid or not."

"Well, that doesn't seem fair." Robin said, glancing at the clock on the stove. "Okay...give it to me and I'll sign it now."

Matt rolled his eyes and shoved the permission slip across the counter to her. He watched as she scanned it and then signed her name at the bottom before handing it back to him. Kissing him on the forehead, she said hurriedly, "Okay...you're all set. Now get out to that bus stop before you miss your bus."

"I am not going to miss my bus." He grumbled as he pulled on his jacket and headed out the door.

"Have a good day at school!" Robin called after him as he closed the door behind him. "I love you!"

She thought she heard him mutter a response, but she didn't have time to think twice about it. Robin and the staff of General Hospital were being introduced to a new neurosurgeon this morning at a meeting with the hospital board of directors and she couldn't be late. As a neurological pathologist, Robin and this new hot shot would probably be working together on a lot of the same cases. Which really meant that they would be butting heads as he pushed for surgery and she countered with her drug treatment therapies.

"I was just getting used to arguing with Noah." She muttered to herself as she gathered her coat and her briefcase. "I had him right where I wanted him and now they give me some new jackass who thinks he's God's gift to..."

Robin's little rant was interrupted by the sound of the back door opening. She looked up to see her son walking back into the kitchen."Don't tell me..." she said with a frown.

Matt looked up at his mother with a sheepish grin on his face and informed her, "I missed the bus."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Come on, people."

Robin impatiently tapped her fingers on the steering wheel of her white Honda Pilot SUV and silently swore at the line of traffic sitting in front of her. She knew this would happen. There was always a line of parents outside the school to drop off their kids in the morning and she was stuck in the middle of the chaos.

Matt, sitting in the front seat and playing with the radio, simply smirked up at his mother as she continued to complain to herself, "Just open the door and let the kid get out of the car. What is so hard about that? What could possibly be taking so long?"

"Does it make them go faster when you mutter at them?" Matt finally asked, grinning up at her.

"No," she shot back at him with a grin, "but it makes me feel better." Reaching over to muss his hair, she added, "Who is the parent here, anyway?"

"Parent?" Matt asked sarcastically. "You're more like a raving lunatic this morning."

"And you're stuck with me."

"Lucky me." He added, rolling his eyes at her. It was in moments like these that he reminded Robin so much of his father. Changing the subject, he asked, "So what is your big meeting all about?"

"Some new neurosurgeon from New York is gracing General Hospital with his presence today." Robin told him with a scowl. "And Dr. Quartermaine is pulling out all the stops to make him feel 'welcome'. We're having a meet-and-greet type thing and everyone who is not working with a patient is required to attend." Robin moved her car up an inch as she added dryly, "When I came back to GH from Paris, all I got was a cup of coffee from the hospital cafeteria."

"But I thought that Dr. Noah was the brain surgeon at General Hospital?"

"He is." Robin answered, looking out her windshield to see what the possible hold up could be. "But this new doctor is younger and he is supposed to be a brilliant doctor in the prime of his career." Mimicking Alan Quartermaine, chief of staff of General Hospital, she added, "_This is a great opportunity to advance our surgical department and we are lucky to have him choose us."_

Matt grinned at her impression and then asked, "So, he's better than Dr. Noah?"

"Better than God...or so he thinks." Robin muttered without thinking.

"But I thought no one was better than God." Matt reminded her. "That's what Father Xavier said in Sunday School."

"Well...apparently...someone forgot to tell this guy." she answered. Looking down at Matt, she added, "Maybe he needs a session with Father Xavier."

"So, this new doctor is a jerk?"

"Probably." Robin said, moving her car up again.

"You mean, you haven't met him?" Matt asked, looking at his mother curiously. "Then how do you know anything about him?"

"I know his type." Robin informed her son. "I've been working in medicine long enough to know that you don't get to be as infamous as this guy is supposed to be without being an arrogant son of a b-..." She stopped when she realized what she was about to say and then simply said, "...jerk. An arrogant jerk."

But Matt was no dummy. His grin told her he knew exactly what she was going to say, but instead of calling her on it, he said, "But Dr. Noah is not a jerk."

"No, he's not." Robin conceded, looking again at her son.

"Well, then maybe this guy isn't either." Matt concluded. "Since they have the same job and everything...maybe he won't be a jerk."

She loved his ten year old logic. And she also knew when she had been put in her place.

"Maybe he won't be." Robin agreed. "I should give him a chance, shouldn't I?"

Matt nodded and grinned at her as Robin sighed and said, "I guess I don't handle change well, Matty. I had just gotten so used to working with Noah and we've developed such a good working relationship...and now I have to get used to this new guy."

"Moving back to Port Charles from Paris last year was a big change." Matt reminded her and then added, "And that turned out okay."

"Yes, it did." she agreed. Smiling at him, she asked him, "How did you get to be such a good kid?"

He shrugged off her compliment and reached down to get his bookbag when he saw that they were approaching the drop off spot.

"Thanks for the ride, mom." Matt said as he opened the car door.

"Anytime kid." Robin replied, leaning over to receive the kiss he planted on her cheek. "Do you think you can manage to be on time for the bus to go home?"

Matt screwed up his face at her sarcasm and said, "I'm not riding the bus home. I have football practice today after school and Danny's mom is picking us up at 5:00."

"Right." Robin said, remembering the day's schedule. "Well, have a good day at school and a good practice. I love you."

"I love you, too." He said, hopping out of the car. "Sorry if I made you late for your meeting."

Robin waved as he ran up the sidewalk toward the Port Charles Elementary School and then somehow managed to maneuver her SUV to the exit of the parking lot without running into anyone. Picking up her cell phone, she dialed the number of her colleague and best friend, Dr. Lindsay Spencer.

"Where are you?" Lindsay demanded when she picked up on her end of the phone line. "I thought we were going over the Gracie DuBois case before the meeting with Dr. Godsend."

"And good morning to you, too." Robin chirped into her phone as she joined the line of cars waiting to exit the parking lot onto the main road that led to the hospital. "Matt missed the bus and I am running late. Save me a seat, okay?"

"Of course." Lindsay said. "Want me to get you a cup of coffee, too? I don't know if we'll make it through this circus without large doses of caffeine."

"Now I remember why I love you so much." Robin said with a grin. "Coffee would be wonderful." Switching her cell phone to her other ear, Robin asked, "Is Jax going to be at the meeting?"

"He's already here. He's meeting with Alan, Nikolas and the other members of the hospital board before the staff meeting." Lindsay said, referring to her fiancé of two months, Jasper Jacks. Robin could hear the smile in her friend's voice as she added, "We drove in together this morning. It was nice."

"Awwww." Robin teased. "How sweet."

"Don't start." Lindsay warned and Robin smiled. "Just hurry up and get here before..."

"Shit!"

As Robin pulled out of the school parking lot, she instantly felt her car collide with another. Pulling off to the side of the road, Robin muttered into her phone, "Linds, I've gotta go. See you in a bit." Closing her phone and looking in her driver's side window at the silver Mercedes that had pulled off right beside her, Robin got out of the car in a huff as she muttered, "Damn. This is all I need today."

A tall, dark haired man got out of the driver's side of the silver Mercedes...looking just as pissed off as Robin felt...and walked toward her with his jaw set in anger.

"Don't you look where you're going?" Robin demanded, walking right up to the man and realizing that she only came up to his chest. Raising her chin to look into his face, she added, "You drove right into me!"

The tall man had no patience for the little spitfire in front of him and asked incredulously, "I hit you? I don't think so!" Gesturing to the point of impact between their two cars, he said, "You pulled right out of that parking lot without looking!"

"I did not!" Robin shot back indignantly.

"Well if you weren't so busy talking on your cell phone and fixing your make-up, then you'd remember what just happened." He said angrily. "You pulled out..."

"Talking on my cell phone and fixing my make-up?" Robin repeated in anger. "Is that some sort of sexist remark?"

"No." He said dryly. "It's an observation."

Robin followed his gaze and felt her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink as she realized that her cell phone was still in her hand. Pursing her lips, she said lamely, "Well, I wasn't fixing my make-up."

"Obviously." He shot back, taking a moment to look at her.

That remark rubbed her the wrong way. What the hell did he mean by that?

Furiously, she snapped, "Well, you know what...there's nothing like meeting a gentleman."

"Or," he quipped at her snidely, "you could say...running into one."

"Great." Robin shot back at him. "You're a smart-ass on top of everything else. I already have one of those in my life, thank you very much. But he's ten...what's you're excuse?"

The owner of the silver Mercedes stared hard at her before Robin swore she saw the corners of his mouth turn up into a bit of a half smile. He shook his head at her and then went to survey the damage done to both of their cars.

"Look," he said, examining the front bumper of his luxury sports car, "let's just forget this ever happened, okay? I'm late..."

"Well so am I!" Robin exclaimed, not believing the audacity of this man. "But I am also the police commissioner's niece and I know better than to leave the scene of an accident."

"Lady," he said, running a frustrated hand through his hair as he scowled at her, "there is no damage to your car! Isn't that why you bought that gas-guzzling tank?"

"As opposed to your much better 'mid-life crisis' mobile?" Robin shot back, not at all sure why they were suddenly insulting each other's cars.

"Mid-life crisis?" He repeated. "I'm barely 30!" Shaking his head in disgust, he paused for a moment and then continued in a more even temper, "Look, why don't you just quit while you're ahead? My car is fine, your car is fine and we're both late. So let's just get back in our 'fine' cars and get away from each other?"

"Fine!" Robin spat at him, marching back to the driver's side of her car. As she watched him pull away ahead of her, she muttered to herself, "What else can possibly go wrong today?"


	3. Chapter 3

**_Lindsay Spencer is a character I created for a few of my other fics. All you need to know about her for this fic is that she is the oldest of Luke and Laura's children, a pediatrician at GH, the mother of a 5 year old daughter named Sophie and engaged to Jax! Oh yeah...and she is Robin's best friend! I just love the idea of Scorpio/Spencer...the Next Generation! _**

**_So here is the inevitable "first" meeting..._**

**_

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Chapter Three

"Cream, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon...just how you like it."

Robin smiled for the first time since leaving Matt at school as Lindsay handed her a steaming cup of coffee. Wrapping her hands around the warm cup, she took a sip of the hot liquid and relaxed as she felt the coffee slide down her throat.

"You don't look so good, Robs." Lindsay observed with a frown as she picked up the briefcase Robin had discarded near the nurse's station and turned to walk toward Robin's office. "I didn't know the parking lot of the PC Elementary School was so emotionally draining."

Robin smirked as she fell in step with her friend on the short walk to her office and said, "The parking lot was only the beginning of the story. As I turned onto Main Street, some jerk plowed his Mercedes right into me."

"Are you okay?" The pediatrician asked, suddenly alarmed.

"I'm fine." Robin assured Lindsay with a smile as they reached her office door. Pulling her keys out of her purse and unlocking her door, she added, "And so is the car."

"Was Matt already out of the car?"

Robin moved over to her desk as Lindsay switched on the light and said, "Yes, thank God. He wasn't anywhere near the accident. Which is a double blessing, since I put on quite a performance with the other driver."

"What happened?" Lindsay asked as she set Robin's briefcase down and sunk herself into one of the armchairs facing Robin's desk.

"He was just a jerk." Robin said, shuffling through the mail that she had removed from the mailbox on her door. "First he accused me of being a bad driver and not watching where I was going because I was talking on my cell phone and checking my make-up."

"Um, Robs," her best friend began as a smirk started to play on her lips, "you were on the phone with me when..."

"I know." Robin snapped, as if she were disciplining Matt instead of talking to her best friend since high school. "But I can do two things at once. And, for your information, I did look before I pulled out of the parking lot. Mr. Mercedes came flying out of nowhere."

"Did the Mercedes survive?"

"Thankfully there was no damage." Robin finally sat down in her desk chair and picked up her coffee. "Can you imagine? That was no ordinary Mercedes...that was a top of the line luxury car. The bumper alone would have cost me a large chunk of Matt's college fund."

"So what was this jerk's name?"

Robin shrugged as she took another sip of her coffee and Lindsay exclaimed, "You didn't exchange information with the creep?"

"He was late, I was late," Robin replied nonchalantly, "and since there was no damage, we simply insulted each other and took off. Frankly, I was glad to get rid of him."

"He insulted you?"

"He made a smart-ass remark about my make-up and called my car a tank." Robin said with a grin. "It was all very adult."

Lindsay chuckled and prompted, "And your response was..."

"I think I called his car a 'mid-life crisis mobile'. Which was actually more insulting to him than I thought it would be." Robin shrugged again and added, "I must have touched on a nerve because he couldn't have been more than thirty, but he was on the verge of a major flip-out at the mere mention of a mid-life crisis."

"Well, you know what they say about boys and their toys." Lindsay remarked with another grin. "Men who buy flashy, expensive cars are usually over compensating for something."

"And so what does that say about Jax and his many sports cars?" Robin teased over the rim of her cup.

"That the man has more money than he knows what to do with." Lindsay shot back, not taking the bait. "Trust me, there is nothing about Jasper Jacks that needs to be compensated for. I am sat-is-fied."

Robin broke out into a laugh and said, "I love Jax dearly and I'm completely happy for the two of you, but that is more information than I need this early in the morning..."

"Good morning, ladies."

Both Robin and Lindsay turned and smiled at Noah Drake as he poked his head into Robin's office and smiled warmly at them."Hi, Noah." Robin chirped. "Come on in and sit with us. Epiphany said the meeting is going to start a little late."

"Apparently," Lindsay drawled as Noah moved into Robin's office and took a seat in the chair next to her, "our new surgical diva was a little late for his private meeting with the hospital board and has now thrown us all off schedule."

"The nerve of some people." Noah mused, grinning at Lindsay.

"You seem to be in pretty good spirits today, Noah." Lindsay teased, returning his grin. "Considering you are about to be thrown under the bus for this new surgical God who has come down from on high to walk among us mere mortal medical professionals."

Noah chuckled at her assessment of the new neurosurgeon and said, "Can I tell you a secret?"

"You're plotting to murder him and maintain your place as GH's surgical guru?" Robin guessed with a glint in her eye. She had really grown quite fond of Noah Drake in the last year. "I used to run with Sonny and Jason and could call in a favor on your behalf..."

"No, thank you." Noah laughed at his young colleagues. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

"Are you sure?" Lindsay asked. "Because you are in the presence of a Spencer and a Scorpio. Between our two fathers, I'm sure we could come up with a way to..."

"Stop!" Noah laughed again, shaking his head. He adored these girls. They were such a big part of why he was enjoying his life in Port Charles. He looked over at Robin and asked, "So, do you want to hear my secret or not? I have been keeping it for over a week now and I am about to go crazy."

"Well then you came to the right place." Robin informed him. "We may look like straight-laced professionals, but deep down inside we are really still just a couple of giggly, gossipy high school girls."

"Spill it, Drake." Lindsay commanded her colleague.

"I used to change the new neurosurgeon's diapers." Noah said with a smile. "He's my son, Patrick."

Robin and Lindsay looked at each other in disbelief and quickly ran down in their heads what they may have said about the new surgeon in front of Noah. Lindsay frowned when she realized it wasn't anything good.

"Noah." Robin breathed, as she was the first one to regain her composure. "I'm sorry. We've been joking about him all week and had no idea that he was your son."

The elder surgeon smiled gently at her and asked, "And how were you supposed to know? I promised Alan...and Patrick...that I wouldn't say anything until he got here."

"We've been pretty rotten." Lindsay reminded him lamely. "But, in our defense, we thought he was coming here to take your job away. We had no idea that he was your son."

"Actually," Robin said suddenly, "we had no idea that you had a son." She eyed Noah and added, "We've worked together for almost a year and you never mentioned him. I mean, you listen to me ramble on about Matt and you listen to Lindsay talk about Sophie's antics...and you never once said anything about Patrick."

"It's complicated." Noah said quietly.

"Hello!" Lindsay exclaimed, drawing Noah's attention. "Must I repeat myself? You are in the presence of a Scorpio and a Spencer. My father is Luke Spencer...enough said right there...my mother is catatonic, and Robin's father recently returned from the dead after fifteen years. If anyone understands complicated family dynamics...it's the two of us."

Noah chuckled softly and said, "I guess that's true." He paused for a moment and then told them, "You know that my wife Maddie died on the operating table, right? And that I am a recovering alcoholic?" Robin and Lindsay nodded in unison as Noah took a deep breath and continued, "Well, after Maddie died, I crawled into a bottle and pretty much left Patrick to grieve by himself. He was very angry at me and we've barely spoken at all in the last ten years. Up until about a month ago."

"What happened a month ago?" Robin asked gently.

"It was Maddie's birthday." Noah said softly, sadness in his eyes. "I went down to the cemetery to put flowers on her grave and Patrick was there. I bucked up the courage to ask him to get a cup of coffee with me and we talked for a long time. I told him all about my life here in Port Charles, General Hospital, my relationship with Alexis, and that I was in rehab. I think he was really proud of me." He smiled gently and said, "He called me two weeks later and said that Alan Quartermaine had called him and offered him the position of chief of surgery..."

"He's going to be chief of surgery?" Lindsay interrupted in surprise. "I didn't know that."

"Another one of my secrets." Noah told her with a wink. "Anyway, he wanted to know if there would be any hard feelings if he took the job."

"Are there?" Robin asked.

Noah smiled again and said, "I am going to be working side by side with my son...who finally seems ready to repair our relationship." He shook his head as he added, "No job could ever give me that much satisfaction. And the truth is...he is a better surgeon than I am."

"I doubt that." Lindsay scoffed, sitting back in her chair. "You're an amazing doctor, Noah."

"Thank you, but it's true." Noah told them seriously. "Patrick Drake...look him up. He's all over the medical journals for some amazing procedures he has been successful with. And," he added slyly, "he is just as arrogant and as big a pain in the butt as everyone is assuming he will be. Just like I was at his age. So, that's why I laughed along with your jokes."

"But does he have reason to be arrogant and a pain in the ass?" Lindsay asked, raising her eyebrow at Noah.

"Yes." Robin answered before Noah could say anything. When the other two looked at her, she grinned sheepishly and said, "I have come across his name in the neurological journals I use for my research. He did some amazing surgical work with Tourette Syndrome patients and Chiari malformations." She looked up at Noah and said, "I don't know why I never made the connection between the two of you, though."

"Drake is a pretty common name." Noah told her with a shrug. "And since I never mentioned him, you wouldn't have any reason to make a connection."

Robin studied her surgical colleague for a moment before she smiled and said, "Well, as much as I am dreading having to work with someone new...I am really happy for you, Noah. It's nice to have family around."

Noah smiled in agreement as Robin added, "But tell me...just how big of a pain in the ass is he?"

"Big." Noah told her with a wink. "Let's just say that he is not a big believer in drug trials of any kind. In his mind, surgery is the answer to any problem."

"Great." Robin muttered, then looked up at Noah and said quickly, "But I can fight my own battles. So don't think you have to choose sides, okay? I can hold my own."

"I have no doubts about that." Noah said with a warm smile. "In fact, I think my son is about to meet his match in you, Dr. Scorpio."

Before Robin could say anything else, there was another knock on Robin's office door and Alan Quartermaine stepped into the room and said, "So, this is where the party is this morning."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Quartemaine." Robin apologized, standing up quickly. "We had heard that the meeting was delayed so we..."

"I'm not here to scold any of you, Robin." Alan said warmly, smiling at her. "I was just showing young Dr. Drake around before the meeting and thought that the two of you should meet. I expect that you will be consulting on quite a few cases together."

"Oh, okay." Robin said, feeling foolish for thinking that they were all about to be in trouble.

"Patrick?" Alan turned around and motioned to the person behind him, who was still standing out in the hallway. "I would like you to meet, Dr. Robin Scorpio and Dr. Lindsay Spencer."

When Dr. Patrick Drake stepped into the office for the first time, Robin's face fell and before she could stop herself, she heard herself mutter, "Oh God...no."

Alan, Lindsay, and Noah all immediately took their attention off of Patrick and turned to look at Robin. Patrick, meanwhile, recovered from his initial shock and was suddenly smirking down at her.

Patrick Drake was the man she from the accident outside of Matt's school.

"Robin?" Alan asked, concern on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

Realizing that she must have looked and sounded ridiculous, Robin quickly put on her professional face and replied, "No, I'm sorry. I was just surprised to see him, that's all."

"Do the two of you know each other?" Noah asked, looking at Robin in surprise.

"Not exactly." Robin muttered, avoiding Patrick's eyes."You could say that we..."

Patrick spoke up, his eyes twinkling as he was clearly enjoying Robin's embarrassment, "...ran into each other this morning."

Lindsay looked across the desk at her and mouthed the words, "Mr. Mercedes?"

Robin nodded at her friend and then looked up at Patrick. Pasting a fake smile on her face, she held out her hand and said, "But we were never formally introduced. Dr Drake, I am Robin Scorpio."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Scorpio." Patrick returned with a smirk as he shook her outstretched hand. "But I must admit that after our first meeting this morning, I never would have expected you to be the neurological genius who has made such advancements in the study of brain trauma."

And just as he had this morning with the make-up comment, Patrick Drake worked his way under her skin. Pursing her lips and trying to remain calm, Robin asked smugly, "And why is that, Dr. Drake?"

Lindsay, recognizing the antagonistic tone in her best friend's voice, took the opportunity to step up at that moment and save Patrick from saying something they would all regret by saying loudly, "And I am Dr. Lindsay Spencer. It's nice to meet you, Dr. Drake."

Patrick tore his eyes away from Robin and swallowed whatever nasty words were sitting on the tip of his tongue. Smiling down at the beautiful, blond Dr. Spencer, he gave Lindsay the once over as he drawled, "Well, hello Dr. Spencer. I can see that it is going to be a real pleasure to work with you."

"Down boy." Noah said to his son with a chuckle, stealing another look at Robin and wondering what had gone on between her and Patrick earlier. "Dr. Spencer is happily engaged."

"To Jasper Jacks." Robin said snidely. "The successful, handsome, rich, undeniably charming member of the hospital board that you just met."

"Yes, I remember Mr. Jacks." Patrick said smugly. "Congratulations, Dr. Spencer."Lindsay bit back a grin as Patrick slid his eyes back to Robin and said, "And what about your husband, Dr. Scorpio? Is he a member of the board, as well?"

"I'm not married."

"Really?" Patrick asked in mock surprise and then added nastily, "Well, I almost find that hard to believe. Don't tell me that at least one of the men of Port Charles has not been taken in by your obvious charm?"

Robin drew in a deep breath and was about to fire back at his insult when Noah wisely stepped in and asked, "So what do you think of our hospital so far, Patrick?"

Never taking his eyes off Robin, Patrick answered his father, "Oh, I already have a feeling that I am going to like it here."


End file.
